Reviews by RenoZymurgist:

Poured a very bright copper color with almost no head.Thin white ring clings to the glass tenativly.Aroma is very fruity and nicely english. No smoke or what i would percieve to be anything whisky-like yet if i were to put this beer in another category it would fit quite well, say an ESB for instance. Flavor is also very ESB like, nice caramel malt flavor and dry mineral finish with english hop flavor. This beer seems to me to be mis-categorized. i think it is an excellent ESB but a very poor scottish ale. To dry and mineraly and the finish isn't sweet enough. And the label says it is a whiskey malt beer i would expect peat smoked barley not maris otter. Word for the wise this isn;t a smoked scotch ale more of a fuller's ESB. (738 characters)

More User Reviews:

Like others who have reviewed this one I believe it looked more like a German spring bock even though says red on bottle.Had a great aroma to it that of granny smith apples.Had a light to medium body with decent head.Had a faint smokiness to it wich is apparent in some Scottish ales.Pretty good beer,worth the hype? (316 characters)

Appearance  Amazingly clear yellow in the body with an active, white head.

Smell  Light Scottish whisky aroma that is otherwise balanced with subtle hops and a hint of citrus hops. Not like anything Ive smelled before.

Taste  The sweets pick up the pace big time at the tongue. They are predominantly man-made, like sucrose. Definitely simple carbs here. I should comment on the malt base and short but complimenting hops, but its the sugar that commands attention. The cheap carbonation (see below) and sucrose orientation makes this one tastes almost like one of those fizzy candies you hand out at Halloween.

Mouthfeel  The fizzy Neutron Bomb kind of carbonation left me wanting. I dont even understand why it was there in the first place, but it spoiled the experience IMO.

Drinkability  Overall, this was an interesting ale but with one too many faults for me to give it the thumbs up. (918 characters)

This Austrian, Nessie pours a clear, light gold, with a smallish, offwhite head that leaves no lace. Aroma is on the sweet malty side, with lots of caramel and a hint of noble, floral hops. Mouthfeel is average, with a light body and medium carbonation. The taste is very nice, though a bit on the sweet malty side of the scale. Munich malt seems to be present, and there is a definite breadiness. Floral hops add a bitterness that compliments the malts quite well. Castle Eggenberg is an excellent brewery, but this effort, though acceptable and tasty, seems out of place. This is not a Red Ale, in any sense of the word, or style. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this and can't wait to find another. The alcohol is well concealed, but has a pleasant, warming sensation after the finish. Perhaps, they should rename this one. (818 characters)

This was advertised as a Smoked when I had it. Darker yellow pour with no head. Fruity, malty aroma with grains and sugar. Not an ounce of anything smoky in this bottle, even though that it what it was advertised as. Looking at BA's category for this, its not really that good of a Scotch Ale imitation. Butterscotch (not scotch), metallic, and medicinal flavors abound. No caramel, peat, earth, roasty malt, nothing. No cabonation gives it a syrupy feel. Not good. (465 characters)

I thought this was OK, but not what i expected, quite a warming slightly bitter acidic flavour, with whiskeyish notes, but i thought it was a bit light on in the flavour department, not the best, but worth ago. Interesting name, considering it is from Austria. (261 characters)

(Served in a tulip glass) A- The thin wispy swirl of head sits on top of a crystal clear apricot body and a gentle carbonation. S- The soft caramel hint is pretty clean with a popcorn note that grows as the beer warms. T- The rich sweet caramel flavor has a dry toasted malt note to and a soft plastic and spice hint in the finish. M- The medium mouthfeel has no alcohol heat and is a bit flat in the finish. D- This beer is smooth and sweet with a nice caramel note and a hint of plastic is a bit off. The caramel notes taste of a long wort boil which has some nice qualiteis but not much depth. (602 characters)

330ml bottle, day number 6 in the 2012 Craft Beer Advent calendar. Somehow I believe that this particular offering was available in Alberta not all that long ago.

This beer pours a clear, pale golden amber hue, with two fingers of densely foamy, billowy off-white head, which leaves an undulating wall of specked painted lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of semi-sweet, grainy cereal malt, a wee bit of orchard fruitiness, and a very, very mild evocation of yeasty bog. The taste is more bready, breakfast cereal malt, some subtle apple-pear fruit notes, a still innocuous woody/peaty, um, suggestion, and tame earthy leafy hops. Any overt barrel and/or Scotch leanings are pretty much lost in the mire.

The bubbles are fairly laid back in their merely supportive nature, the body a steady medium weight, and generally quite smooth - dealing only really with a low-key pithiness. It finishes off-dry, the bready, biscuity malt still holding sway, and the middling noble hops staying true to their station.

A pretty decent Vienna Lager, I don't know where all this talk of Scottish whiskey barrels and Highland malt is getting us - none of it really manifests in the beer itself. Which is fine by me - I like this as it is - a well-flavoured, enjoyable, and altogether drinkable malty lager. (1,315 characters)

This is Beer 6 from the Rieder Advent Calendar. It pours a pale clear amber, with a thin head that remains for a long while. There is a distinct sweet aroma, slightly reminiscent of rye/whiskey, bread maybe? I'm not crazy about the flavour: there's a sharp metallic taste that doesn't belong, and unfortunately there aren't really any other flavours potent enough to mask it. There are some bready notes, and the whiskey malt adds some complexity, but there just isn't much here. The finish is very clean, but weaker than I was expecting. Another underwhelming offering from this calendar. (589 characters)

Appearance: Gold straw-colored body, little to no head retention, and little carbonation overall.

Smell: Oddly enough this smell is pretty reminiscent of the Layla beer I just reviewed. I don't get any smoke or peat or whiskey, and just sugars from the malt and maybe a hint of hop sourness.

Taste: Way overdone sweetness, metallic flavors, hints of smoke, acrid sourness, medicinal unpleasant funk and earthiness. I can't drink anymore of this. Even small sips for sampling are unpleasant.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with thankfully a burst of carbonation near the end, making it a little less watery than it initially presents itself to be.

Drinkability: Not sure I've had a scotch ale like this before, but this seems overly sweet, unbalanced, and fairly caustic, as I'm starting to get a headache from it. I won't be trying this again. Samichlaus and the Urbock Eisbock I'll be trying again, but this I surely won't be trying again, and I'm pouring the rest down the drain because seriously halfway through it's given me a huge headache. Yikes. (1,090 characters)

Blotched, dull, shadowy brass, with a rimming of large, clinging enamel bubbles.
Helles bock nose of candied pears, golden raisins, toffee, and alcohol vapors.
It presents, again, as bock-like in the mouth, ripe with those same pears, raisins, and, now, red apples. Dripping honey and caramel and toffee and butterscotch as well. A minor cinnamon spicing preludes a diesel booze belch, and a vague reedy bitterness.
The texture is heavy and with a viscous slickness, though it thins partially over time.
It's bears all the traits of a down-shifted EKU 28.
There are elements to cherish here for malt-heads, but altogether, it seems too much like a Maibock fortified with a shot of Scotch. (695 characters)

Crystal clear and golden in color with a bronze accent; topped by a lightly foamy white head that leaves some decent lace. The aroma is distinctly malty with soft caramel & toffee notes alongside a light nuttiness with some distinct Munich malt, backed by a very slight floral & perfumy hoppiness. Quite seductive! The body is medium-light and it has a moderate carbonation level. The flavor follows the aroma with a rich, floral, sweet, caramel, and toasted malt backed by a minimal hop bitterness. The balance teeters on the edge of falling towards sweetness... but it never really falls. It's never cloying and it finishes moderately quickly with a semi-dry character, leaving some toasty sweetness. An exceptionally enjoyable and unique beer. Well worth seeking out. (772 characters)

Schloss Eggenberg Mac Queen's Nessie pours up quickly with a small creamish white head that dissipates rather quickly. The goldenrod color shows a near brilliant clarity that enhances the visual aspect. The aromatics are rather subdued upfront, but a bockish malt driven character emerges as it warms that carries some sweet bread, caramel/toffee candy, & neutral grain alcohol notes that aid the complexity. There's a discernable smokiness in the finish from the Highland whisky malt, but it's very muted by the sweetness. Very clean, hint of fruitiness with no diacetyl. Maybe just an initial hint of DMS in the background which is OK per style. The mild flavor starts off rather grainy with some caramel character emerging towards the end. A slightly off-balanced bitterness carries well into the crisp, semi-dry, slightly bitter finish. This medium bodied specialty is creamy, mild, and surprisingly smooth. This is a finely crafted strong specialty beer from one of the world's great lager breweries, but it's certainly NOT a Scotch Ale (Wee Heavy)! So long as you're not expecting to find the Loch Ness monster then you'll enjoy this one just fine. Try pairing this one with some traditional Kippers or Lox with some Grinzing cheese and cracked peppercorn crackers.

L: Pleasant deep amber. Upon pouring into a cooled tulip glass, the foam built up quickly, then collapsed equally suddenly.S: The irony smell of lager, with a light wooden je-ne-sais-quoi in the background.T: Well, it tastes like a decent Vienna lager. Nothing less, nothing more.F: Crispy mouthfeel of a good-quality lager, a tad too metallic for my taste. Carbonation is rather high. I half expected barrelling would have created a smoother, more silky beer.O: Don't get me wrong, this is a pleasant beer. I can imagine me drinking this sitting in an Australian caffee, a pretzel at the side. However, I was promised (and had payed for) something special, a whiff of the Scottish Highlands, a whisky malt red beer, aged for two months, preferably in ancient oak barrels. Not really sure if that was what I got. (816 characters)

Pours amber with a dismal head.Smells like Heineken - loads of grassy Euro hops. Too grassy, almost skunky. No smoke whatsoever, although there is a woody note, almost peaty.Same story with the taste, this could pass as a grassy, pale lager. The only interesting point is that same faint woody hint.Very watery, too much carbonation. (336 characters)

A - Completely clear, Nessie is well carbonated with a thin ring of off-white foam that doesn't last long at all. Sexy golden light amber color.

S - Sweet toasted caramel malts tip the balance of this beer to a near dopplebock-like malt presence. No hops come through nor does whiskey. A clean and crisp aroma dominated by malts with a subtle yeast touch that's very German smelling.

T - The aroma thins out in the flavor to a less than interesting level. A subtle caramel sweetness and a micro hint of white grape is all I get from this. No hops, no whiskey. Not to say it's bad, the lack of anything substantial is more of a let down.

M - Thin-bodied and light, Nessie still remains crisp and smooth like the nose suggests but becomes a rather unimpressive beverage with mild sweetness.

D - Nothing about Nessie is off-putting but nothing is interesting either. The lack of flavors and the smooth texture make it easily drinkable for a session beer but don't expect anything beyond that. (1,060 characters)

t: tastes like it smells. I suppose I get a hint of the malt, but not much. It only comes out in the sweetness. for the most part, this is very very very very very grainy. I am having trouble enjoying this, though as it warms, I get a bit more of the malt. Overall, not my thing...and I tend to like red ales. I feel like I've got dog food in my mouth.

m: mouthfeel is tremendous, actually. Hard to classify this with the appalling taste I get, but the feel is good, nice and smooth with a good balance of carbonation. Cool and crisp.

d: I've had a few sips and while it is getting a bit better, my first reaction was that I didn't want to keep trying it. At about $4 a bottle, this isn't what I expected. Only 5% abv so I suppose I didn't expect that boozy quality here, though quite sad that I get no heat and a ton of grains which, honestly, I am not thinking are tasty.

Overall, very disappointed here. I like red ales and this one sounded like it had promise, though compared to some out there, this is bottom tier and a waste of a nice glass bottle. Very sad about this one.

Oh well, always next year.

as an edit to my post...always possible I got a bad batch...though I am not getting much of the malt that other people mentioned (I like to review first, and then compare to what others have said). I am very sad if this is just a bad bottle as I will likely never give it another go...again, sounded like it'd be a great one to go for, though this is just not me and I just cannot appreciate this if I have what is indeed a good batch. (1,823 characters)

Poured into a Celebrator pokal. Pours a medium burnt orange amber, half finger off-white head dissipates to a film and thick ring around the glass with slight lacing. Aroma of sweet malt, dark fruit, slight hint of whiskey barrel. Flavor is thin sweet malt, slightly grainy. Finishes abruptly with only slight hints of malt and grain. The aroma is nice, but the flavor is very thin, tastes almost watered down. Body is light and uninspiring. I remembered this being really mediocre a few years ago, but after trying other beers from this brewery thought maybe I had tried an old or bad bottle; decided to give it another taste. This is a very pleasant beer trying to escape from too much dilution, I'm sorry it's a miss. (720 characters)